First, let me say this beer is a bear to open. Thick wax PLUS tape? NEBCO, I didn't plan on using the jaws of life to have a beer.

Pour: Crystal clear deep amber/brown, with no head at all. Some bubble arose from a vigorous pour, but then it just sits there still. Looks kinda like Xyauyu.

Smell: Woah... this smells better than expected. Big toffee up front, plus some heavy raisins, figs, and a touch of plum. I can tell this will be sticky. Booze is still evident.

Taste: Follows the nose with lots of very sticky toffee and caramel. Chewy fruits come in with more raisin and fig. A touch of oxidation, but if anything, it serves to bring out the chewy fruits. Finishes sticky with a lingering toffee and raisin.

Mouthfeel: Insanely sticky, and a huge sipper. Rather sweet, and still rather hot. This is a sipper for sure... I wish I shared this honestly, because I think 4 ounces would be perfect - not because it tastes bad, but it just tastes big with how sticky it is.

2004 vintage. Huge thanks to tehzachatak for muling this bottle from the elusive Downtown Davis Square store which seemed to magically unearth this beer r. I have some other bottles with cracked wax and various fill lines, but this had the highest and the wax was all in tact. Speaking of wax, it is insanely brittle and a huge pain to remove. After I sliced my hands and managed to scrape all of it off of the cap I was left with a brown New England Brewing bottle cap and a piece of white/clear tape. So, 12 oz bottle into a 668 tulip.

A - Pours a clear red/purple body. A few bubbles form and a very slight khaki edge forms before popping away. Now I'm left with a still liquor like liquid. Holding it up to the light produces a lovely burnt amber body. A swirl does create a thin alcohol lacing. Looks pretty damn inviting despite not looking like a beer.

S - Raisins, and a whole lot of them!! Just gobs of raisins, caramel, and toffee. A touch of citric hops and fruit cake. Finishes with a bit of spice and a tingling alcohol. Sweet and ever so slightly savory.

T - Raisins, caramel, toffee and a bit of oxidation. Muted and tame. Finishes clean and light with no body to carry flavors through. Alcohol warmth on the end.

M - Spoiler alert: Its dead. Zero life and a body that's barely clinging onto "medium". Drinks like a port or sherry, but lacks much of an aftertaste to help things out.

O - A long time want of mine fully met. It's held up well for an 8 year old barleywine. Its certainly not a great beer though. The aroma is burnt raisins muddled in an expired fruit cake and the taste is surprisingly lackluster and light on the finish. This beer has some parallels with Raison D'extra, only its missing the alcohol bite and massive taste that makes that beer so great. Is this worth trading for? Not unless you're either a die hard NEBCO-fan or you enjoy beers that are way over the hill. I wonder how close this was fresh to the new Premeditated Murder barleywine.

edit: I've since opened another bottle that was much better. I would probably rate it closer to a 4.0

9 years has removed any trace of carbonation that may have existed - a still ruby body, placid as an alpine lake. Smells of rich caramel, booze, sweet malts. Very sweet, lush caramel, boozy, old. Held up pretty well for a 2004 release - all thats left is the malt and the booze - this will put hair on your chest

T: The taste starts with sweet flavors of brown sugar dark fruit, molasses and bourbon. Then a hearty malt character comes in along with a slight alcohol sting. There is very little hops presence left after 8 years as you would expect. There is still a bit of balance and some smokiness is in the background. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

O: Tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, strong kick, good representation of style, this beer is obviously way past its which is quite regrettable. I’m betting this was a pretty good beer either fresh or at about 2-3 years old.

A rare brew shared by brewmaster Rubby, this 2002 vintage barleywine has a thick, cloudy tea color, milky and swimming with substance. There is no evidence of a head or lacing but I imagine that can be largely attributed to its age. As if to make up for the missing bubblage, the aroma brings huge caramel bourbon, chocolate smoke, heavy creamy malt and tobacco. The flavor is boozy bourbon blended deliciously with chocolate milk and toffee peat. Wow. Both the smell and flavor are just lovely. It feels pretty syrupy with heavy body that is not far past mid-bodied. This is clearly not to be sessioned but just a pure treat to smell and sip. Wish there were more of these on the shelf, and I expect it does continue to improve with age as the label proclaims. Thank you Rubby!

Thanks to Knifestyles for the trade on this unique growler. I cant really think of a time when opening up a 2 liter growler of 11% barleywine from 2006 is a good idea but what the hell. I had a bunch of BA's over for a bottle share on Saturday and that was about as good of a time as any to finally crack this open.

Poured from a growler into a snifter, it appears a deep clear color of brownish burnt mahogany with reddish highlights. When held to the light it displays deep clear ruby coloration and an orange tint around the edges. A vigorous pour years only a few bubbles atop the brew, hardly anything I would consider a formation of head.

The aroma of this brew is sweet and malty with a scent that is very sherry-like. The deep sweetness reveals layers of alcohol laden fruit like raisins, dates, prunes. Lots of caramelized sugars with a light toasted appeal. There is a light indication of oxidation present that leads the way towards a faint cardboard characteristic but not quite because the alcohol comes through to wipe anyway any off characteristics to the nose.

The taste of this brew includes a lightly musty grain characteristic that again brings me back to a characteristic of cardboard-like oxidation. There is a big and boozy appeal to this brew tasting like dark fruits similar to raisins or prunes with a modest backing bitterness that lingers inside the mouth with a faint herbal flavor that pales in comparison to the high octane kick of the alcohol. The aftertaste is somewhat nutty reminding me of chestnuts. More sips reveal a medicinal quality that just never quite comes together for me.

This is a full bodied brew with a very low level of carbonation. It was enjoyable and complex if you took the time to enjoy it without concentrating too much on the negative aspects. The alcohol inclusion in this brew is nearly numbing on the tongue and quite evaporative, it could have easily lasted much longer if aged and melded together to be an ever better brew if the oxidation was not present. A little bit of carbonation would have gone a long way in this offering, just the slightest bit would have been quite welcomed. Regardless, I never had the chance to get a bottle of this, so I was very excited to get to try this from one of the last remaining kegs of this brew. Unfortunately it is gone now except for those who have bottles remaining. I hope Rob and Matt seriously consider revisiting this brew because it has potential.

my BeerAdvocate review #1500! Thanks to Stakem for Sharing this growler -poured into a snifter.

A clear copper with no head or legs some head when poured, but vanished immediately. The smell is very candy-like at first with smell of nuts and slight woody accent w/ subtle fruit tinges and light caramel w/ mild alcohol until warm w/ mild spice. The feel is pretty intense with high gravity evident in the dense body and concentrated sugar w/ mild burn in the back of the throat. The sweetness level is good and is balanced by an overal dry warming finish.

The flavor is decent with a gentle flavor of caramel in the big wide barleywine flavor profile -lots of concentrated sugar w/a gentle dry slightly peppery element and slight toasted malt accent w/ a moderate amount of alcohol taste in the finish. What a tasty barleywine, I consider it a solid offering overall. I think it might even continue to mellow with age, but it is potent and still very drinkable for the high abv. I enjoyed the malt quality in the taste.

A- pours a nice cloudy reddish brown with no head and no lacing.
S- strong caramel malts with a strange dark fruitiness like fig and raisins. Plenty of booze and silliness. Love the old musty wood aroma.

T- strong caramel malts with the dark fruits and spice. Nice heat in there from the 11.5 alcohol. Nice siltiness in the flavor.

M: Medium to full body with very, very low carbonation. Almost flat, but not too bad.

D: For 11 percent, this isn't really that hard to drink. I managed to have three glasses (probably half the growler), and while it gave me a serious buzz I was never struggling to finish it.

Notes: Huge thanks to Matt for hooking me up with a growler of this potentially last keg of 04 in the world. This is a seriously underrated beer, at least as far as my experiences with draft versions go.

12oz bottle topped with red wax. not just any red wax, a coating so thick and plastic-like that it took me about 10 minutes to chip my way into it. then i found a piece of string-reinforced tape going up over the cap. what a pain. 2004 vintage, sampled april 3/2010.

pours crystal clear deep dark orange, nearly red until held to the light. no sign of head or carbonation. no lace.

taste is not good. boozy and hot, burning on the way down. smoke. sweet caramel and toffee. bit of dark fruit. toasted whole wheat bread. a minute after my first sip and it's still burning its way down to my stomach. less of the higher alcohols than i got in the aroma, but they're still there.

mouthfeel is ok. big body and no carbonation.

drinkability is not good. super boozy, tasting more like a shot of cheap vodka than an 11% beer - especially not one with nearly 6 years of aging on it. sticky sweetness. no carbonation. a mess now and i can't imagine it would have been any better fresh.

Quite a treat to see this '05 still on tap at Prime 16 on the 16th of Jan 2010.
Deep,cloudy , reddish brown with no head..little carbonation.
Let it warm before tasting...but the smell, even cold was a nice sherry-port.
Taste is very sweet, fruity and very much like a nice port. Alcohol was evident , but just added another nice layer of flavor. Very, very good ! As it warmed further, it just got better and better.
Overall a great drinking experience....sipped this; actually my girlfriend had most of it, and at 13+%...a good brew to share if you have to drive.
This definitely aged well ! Another winner from Woodbridge.

L: Pours a very cloudy brown color with hints of purple in it. There is almost no head, but a nice off-white colored ring around the edge and laces some down the glass as you drink it.
S: Smell is of sweet roasted and caramelized malts, vinous fruits, some licorice aromas, and a bit of booze at the end.
T: A very sweet roasted and caramelized malty base followed by a big vinous fruit flavor that really screams Barleywine. The end of the taste is a little alcoholic and is bit hot at the end, but it is a pretty good example of a barleywine for sure.
M: Very warming, a bit hot, the right amount of carbonation for this style, overall not too bad.
D: OK drinkability, it is a very big beer and you can tell how potent it is, this one was pretty good.

Pours a murky walnut brown with a tannish head that quickly dissipates leaving no sign of its life.

Aroma is rich and sherry like, also offering caramel and sweet dark fruits traditional of the style. Given the length of time this beer has aged, the sherry was most notable.

Delicious brew, full of the sweet sherry notes noted in the aroma, potent dried fruit, and oddly in the finish, it seemed to be slightly spiced or peppery, perhaps a result of wood.

A bit full-bodied with little to no carbonation with a pleasant sweetness.

I was fortunate to have sampled this beer, a sipper for certain. Given the opportunity to have it again, I would jump. This beer is very rich with tons of traditional style character with the advantage of age at this point.

On tap at Prime 16 in New Haven, CT, Jan. 6 & 7, 2010, 2005 vintage, served in a snifter.

The beer is a murky brown, with noticable sediment throughout the glass. Also one of the first things I noticed were the huge legs, and the stillness... An odd but intriguing looking brew.

When taking the first sniff, raisins (maybe even rum soaked) just jump right out off the glass. A caramel maltiness mixed with licorice and a whole lot of booze are also very prominent.

This beer is somehow insanely hot, especially for being 5 years old. Everything I got in the nose came through in the taste, with a bit more sweetness evident. A bit of cherry even, also there were some slight leathery and tobacco flavors floating around in there. As it warms some of the raisins die off the malt does more of its job, become better and better with every sip.

No carbonation to be found here. Completely flat, but that doesn't hurt this beer terribly. On the thicker side of medium, slmost a little chewy at times. The alcohol tickles and tingles your mouth the entire time you sit with the glass.

This is not the most drinkable thing I've ever come across. Quite high ABV over here, I am told by of the brewers at NEB that this particular keg was nearly 13%, and you tast and feel the 13%. A little carbonation might've helped a little, but what are you to expect from a five year old barleywine.

All in all, I am thrilled I finally had a chance to try 3 Judges (actually two nights in a row), and would be happy to drink it again.

12oz, red waxed bottle, acquired in trade with jjpm74 (thanks!). 2004 Vintage. Damn that wax was a pain in the ass to get off. If it wasn't for that piece of tape under the wax, I may have never gotten it off! And how do you think I get rewarded by finally popping the cap? You guessed it, I get sprayed with gushing that spewed out of this bottle.

****Gusher Alert****

Poured a deeper amberish/orangish color with a huge sized off white head. Cloudy. Aromas of caramel, toffee, cherries and some other dark fruits, and sherry. Tastes of caramel, toffee, the same lighter dark fruitiness, alcohol, and sherry. Heavier alcohol burn. Man was this one hot.

Pretty golden dark amber in the glass but with no head to speak of at all.

Aroma is pretty typical barleywine caramel sweet malts with only a hint of citrus hops...it could definitely use more of those.

Taste is very sweet caramel and brown sugar with some toastiness to the malts. Some of the sugars seem to fight with the hops creating a bit of an unpleasant clash. Citrus hop finish is where it should be but isn't quite fresh enough.

Having read the reviews before drinking this one, I was totally scared. I saw the $5.99 price tag still on top of the wax, thought about the 2 years I'd been sitting on it, and got a little saddened that it was not so well-liked. It pours a thin, brown/amber with absolutely no head. just a few bubbles - looked like thinner apple cider. Smell overwhelmed the room - like i spilled brandy. taste was much better than i expected (but then again, i wasn't expecting much). very strong alcohol sense, fruits, cane sugar, and very smokey.

Pour this in a snifter and share it with a friend. i wouldn't have minded 6 ounces to sip like it was a glass of brandy (with a good cigar of course).

12oz. bottle, 2004 vintage: This beer didnt want to be drunk. I have never had so much trouble geting a wax seal off the top of a bottle as I did this one. When I finally got it open, there was no pffft at all when the cap came off. It poured into the glass with absolutely no carbonation or head. The color was a VERY murky mahogany color. I expected it to be a bit more pungent, but the aroma was a bit subdued. I got notes of caramel, raisins and brown sugar. It is a bit syrupy on the tongue. The taste is good. A twinge of alcohol to it. The flavors have really blended well together. It is complex, but the flavors dont really stand out. I can detect some fruitiness, chocolate, caramel and many others are in there as well. Not bad at all.

Served from a wax-sealed, vintage 2004 12oz bottle in a Duvel tulip at just below cellar temperature.

A - Pours initially a vibrant orange color, then switches over to more of a hazy prune-juice hue. There is not one bubble of head visible at all, and neither the etching at the bottom of the Duvel tulip nor a vigorous swirl can make one rise. Needless to say, there is no lacing whatsoever.

S - Big, slightly musty malts with dry, dark fruits like figs and raisins. A monstrous, salty soy note in the nose grows with rising temperature. There are also pleasing maple syrup and pipe tobacco essences that save the day.

T - Sweet, toasty malts up front with a very slight smoked peat note. The middle rounds it out nicely as the hops begin to show. The back of the tongue is where the alcohol comes through with a very warming, yet not "hot" character. The finish is easy, only mildly dry and not very hopped. Slight notes of must are in the aftertaste, but I suppose that's part of what you get with a 2004 vintage.

M - Watery in with only the faintest hint of carbonation (which luckily isn't too bad in my eyes, and it's only saving grace in mouthfeel). Swallow is quick and without any bravado.

D - Barleywines are supposed to take a few years of aging, but I'm not sure if what I'm tasting is a Barleywine that hasn't aged well, or was mishandled in storage along the way. It's tasty, that's true, but it has no other appeal at all other than it's taste. For the style, let's just say that it's a good thing it's retired. Go find another Barleywine.

12oz bottle purchased as a single from Julio's, Marlboro, MA. 2004 bottling.

Poured into a Rapscallion glass, formed as much of a head as apple juice ever does, and resembles its color as well, albeit a bit darker. No head, no lacing, no fun. Aroma is syrupy malts, alcohol, with tinges of vanilla and dark fruitiness. Taste is more like a sweet yet bitter wine than a beer. Mouthfeel and drinkability are just not what I want in a beer, even a barleywine. Sorry this one took up space in my fridge this long.

This is a style which I am very fond of.. so I must admit to having high expectations of this ale.. come what may.

App: If I saw an old ale or barley wine in this condition I would normally question if it had oxidized. But on tasting it I'm not sure that that is the problem. Suffice to say that it ain't pretty. Super-hazy red-brown liquid with watery edges.. but looks aren't everything.

Sm: chalky.. like fruit candies rolled in powdered sugar or flour. A fruity dryness hangs over the glass.. not a bad smell, but.. well, maybe in 20 years it will aquire some more character.(?)

Ta: Right for the style! The recipe for this one is right on! It tastes very much like a great english barleywine. And getting to it in this condition, very wet (despite the dry smell) is just wonderful. By the taste alone I could drink this one everyday (in my smoking jacket spinning the globe on the desk in front of me!).

Mf: Unusual. Thick, sticky-icky. Something to be sipped very slowly. Very faint traces of carbonation can be felt, but it amounts to nothing and the brew could really be refreshing with some more. Did I say sticky yet?

Da: Hey, I like it. Don't let the scores be misleading. I just think it could be improved either with age or a slight change in brewing methods.